Various types of nonvolatile memory (“NVM”), such as flash memory (e.g., NAND flash memory and NOR flash memory), can be used for mass storage. For example, consumer electronics (e.g., portable media players) use flash memory to store data, including music, videos, images, and other media or types of information.
NVM systems can incorporate a volatile memory buffer (e.g., a dynamic random access memory (“DRAM”) buffer) for receiving data before it is programmed to the NVM. Because volatile memory is typically faster than NVM, such a volatile memory buffer can improve NVM system latency. While system latency characteristics can generally improve with larger volatile memory buffers because more data can be transferred directly to the faster nonvolatile memory, this improved latency comes with a risk of data loss because volatile memory does not retain information upon interruption of power. Thus, the larger the volatile memory buffer used, the higher the risk of catastrophic data loss before the data is transferred from the volatile memory buffer to the NVM.